who's idea was this mess?

[Ti Kan]

Calvin Krug writes:
> Over the weekend, I decided to take a look at the destroyed timing 
> belt on my other Audi, an '87 4000 S (non-quattro)  I saw that the 
> drive belts have to come off to get the lower timing cover off and 
> the new timing belt on, but I've never seen anything like the A/C 
> belt setup on that 1.8 liter.  The compressor is bolted directly to a 
> bracket, which mounts to the passenger side of the engine block.  I 
> see no way of adjusting belt tension.

The A/C belt tension is adjusted by way of circular shims in the
crank-side pulley.  There are some bolts to undo on the front of that
pulley (which then frees up the power steering belt and its pulley,
as well as the A/C belt pulley.  You vary the number of shims between
the pulley halves to adjust belt tension.  This system, while tedious
to adjust, does have the benefit of reliability: there are no adjusting
bolts or mechanism to break or wear out.

> Even stranger, that bracket 
> forms an engine mount, attached to the lower radiator support, and 
> it's located between the compressor pulley and the crank pulley. 
> That's right, the belt can't be replaced without taking the mount 
> loose.

The front mount is bolted to the A/C bracket via two bolts.  You just
have to remove those two bolts and the mount, and the belt comes off
easily.  It's really quite simple.

-Ti
01 S4 2.7 biturbo quattro
84 5000S 2.1 turbo
80 4000 2.0
-- 
    ///  Ti Kan                Vorsprung durch Technik
   ///   AMB Research Laboratories, Sunnyvale, CA. USA
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